


Football Ficlets

by Stardust_66



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, M/M, Meet-Cute, Paul and Nala, Thoughts of dogs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27161068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stardust_66/pseuds/Stardust_66
Summary: Ratings may change as I post more chapters! Probably one shots of different AUs, one for each football pairing
Relationships: Julian Brandt/Kai Havertz
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Football Ficlets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one shot I wrote today featuring bravertz and their dogs (sorry for any typos). Hope you enjoy!
> 
> I'm not sure about the age of Paul & Nala, but Paul seems older and wiser?

Kai pushed the door and held it open to let Paul inside.

He had never been to this local pet supplies store before, and was feeling quite self-conscious about it. It's not like he had anything against supporting local small businesses, but ordering things online without leaving his couch was just so convenient...

He brought Paul here today because their vet recommended a special diet for senior dogs. He was still finding it hard to believe Paul is considered a "senior" now. Paul would always be a puppy in Kai's eyes. Even though he now looked majestic and wise (and occasionally judgemental).

"Hello there! Welcome!" Kai could practically hear the smile in that warm voice, before turning around.

Before he could return the greeting to the handsome blond boy standing behind the cashier's counter, Kai was attacked by a blond fur ball that seemed to fly out of nowhere. Somewhere near his feet, Paul barked in warning.

"No, Nala! Back up! Stop it!" The blonde crossed the distance between them before Kai could react, and tried to catch the golden puppy. He couldn't quite restrain the wriggling ball of energy, and resorted to stepping on her leash instead. Meanwhile, Paul was getting a bit annoyed.

"Sorry, mate! She's just 6 months old, and still in training. She's usually the jealous type though." The blonde's name tag said "Julian". He sounded puzzled while leaning down to gently rub Paul's chin.

Nala was paying her owner no attention whatsoever, too busy attempting to jump up again, and, failing that, wagging her tail furiously at Kai.

Paul was not impressed. ( _What a flirt. She's cute though, I've got to admit that. Plus, Master seems to like her._ )

"Well, she sure is friendly." Kai gingerly reached out his palm, trying to remember what he did when Paul was a puppy. But Paul was chill even as a puppy. So Kai was not prepared to get slobber all over his open palm.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry." Julian, now clearly flustered and abandoned his role of appeasing Paul, jumped up and returned just as quickly to shove some tissues into Kai's hand. 

After some struggling and face licking, Nala finally settled back onto her bed behind the counter, distracted by a toy. Wiping his palms on the apron of his uniform, Julian turned back to Kai:

"Sorry about that! She's not always this excited. She must really like you." Kai wasn't sure if the flushed cheeks were just from the exertion of restraining the puppy a moment ago, or an indication of something more. "How can I help you today?"

"Well, it's actually our first time here..." Kai stopped himself, feeling awkward, and looked down at Paul, who barked towards Julian. ( _What Master meant to say was: we're here to get me some new food because my old food sucked._ ) 

Kai fumbled with his phone in silence, avoiding Julian's expectant gaze (which clearly resembled the eager puppy from earlier), and pulled up a photo of the dog food recommended by their vet.

"Ah, I see. Picky eater, yeah? I believe we still have some in stock." Julian took large strides towards a shelf a few aisles away and bent down to move some boxes. Kai stood in place, following the blonde every movement with his gaze. At his feet, Paul sat down and yawned. ( _Master, I saw you checking out his butt. It's a nice butt._ )

"So, this formula is specifically designed for senior dogs, and helps promote their gastrointestinal health..." Julian launched into his sales pitch enthusiastically. Kai feigned interest by nodding and looking thoughtful. But he couldn't name the top three ingredients of this dog food if his life depended on it - he was far too distracted by Julian's blinding smile, his soft-looking hair, and plush lips. 

_Outgoing, friendly, and cute._

_He must be great at this job, breaking hearts along with sales records._

Kai was shocked by the jealously in his own thoughts, and snapped back into reality. Julian was still smiling and talking in front of him.

"...And, you know what they say about dogs resembling their owners?" A pause, a response was expected of him. But Kai wasn't even sure how they got to this topic.

"I'm not a picky eater." These were the first words that came to mind, and sounded petulant. Kai felt his cheeks and ears heat up from embarrassment. Paul glared at him. ( _Come on, who are we kidding. Haribo gummy bears and Capri-Sonne juice packs take up too much of your diet. Even I know that._ )

Julian laughed. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. What I was saying was, " Another pause, Kai finally noticed the other man was also blushing. Julian tried to hide it mid-sentence by turning away and getting Paul a treat, only revealing the blush had reached his neck. "that Nala tends to warm up to the same people that I do." The second half of the sentence rushed out at a much faster pace.

 _Oh_.

That was more direct than any encounter Kai had ever had.

_But, hey, if dogs resemble their owners...That kind of makes sense?_

Next to Kai, Paul was busy chewing his new treat. But he spared a glance for Julian, and the furry mess of a puppy behind his legs. ( _You'll do._ )

As they walked out of the store later, armed with an armful of new dog food and treats, Kai knew he would come back again. _Probably more often than necessary._ Paul was not complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr at walkon-throughtherain (could you tell from this fic that I have a very judgemental puppy? 😂)


End file.
